I am arriving in Nice on the 25th of May and am renting a car that morning. Where should I drive around for that day? I have a free night (meaning I can stay anywhere overnight, no plans yet) and I have reservations for the Meridien, Nice on the 26th.
Any nice suggestions?

Parisgrl,

You're arriving on a Sunday at what appears to be a very busy time in the south of France (end of Cannes film festival/beginning of Monaco Grand Prix). If I were you, I'd find a hotel for the night first and let that dictate how you spend your day.

I'd recommend a trip to St Paul de Vence to see the old walled village and the Maeght Fondation artwork. The towns of Colles sur Loup & Tourettes sur Loup are nearby as well as the larger town of Vence-all worth a visit. Look for a room in one of these places (all are charming). try looking on the website beyondprovence.com

There's a b&b in Tourettes called Le Mas du soleil www.masdusoleil.com, the Hotel St Paul in St Paul de Vence.

I think you'll have an easier time finding accomodation in this area than down by the coast and it will be a different experience from staying in Nice.

If that doesn't work, you could try Menton which is east of Monaco on the water near the Italian border.

mclaurie:
Thank you so much for all this information, I am looking forward to that website. I had e-mailed the folks down at the Beau Site in Cap D'Antibes but they haven't responded. Now that you mention it, it may be a nice change of pace to hit the little villages inland.
I wonder, are there any scenic drives that look anything like the Italian road to Sorrento, overlooking Capri? That was what I always imagined the French Riviera would look like.

Hi Parisgrl. Two very scenic drives are east of Nice, the Grande Corniche and Moyenne Corniche roads. The Grand Corniche road is the highest and takes you to, and past, La Turbie, a village which sits above Monaco and has the Roman Trophee des Alpes. The Moyenne Corniche road is the middle road and takes you to, and past, Eze Village, the only perched village on the Cote d'Azur that's right on the coast. (

There's another corniche road, the Basse Corniche, which runs right along the water, but I have not driven on that one. It's probably scenic too, but not with the vistas you'd get from either of the other two corniche roads.

Capo, how long does it take to "drive the Corniche?" (Either one)Could we like, pick a place at the Eastern to spend the night and leave in the AM from someplace like Aix, or maybe Cassis? Or if we stayed in Cassis, maybe drive out on the Upper have lunch and come back on the Moyen back to Cassis in time for dinner?

parisgrl, Capo's info is correct. Either the Grand or Moyene Corniche provide great views but I would NOT recommend doing it alone (ie driving & sighseeing!)

If you're looking for a place to stay in Cap D'Antibes, someone else here posted about Hotel Castel Garoupe & describes it as an apt./hotel near the grand Eden Rcok hotel.

Another place that was mentioned was Hotel Vista palzce in Roquebrune between Monaco & Menton www.vistapalace.com

Rent the movie "To Catch A Thief" if you want to see the views from the Grand Corniche.

uhoh, the "corniche" roads -- as I think of them -- only run east of Nice. But there is another very scenic road which I believe is also called a "corniche" road, that hugs the coast west of Nice: the Corniche de l'Esterel (at least that's how someone referred to it on a website travelogue.)

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Are you thinking of driving east from Aix or Cassis and then spending the night somewhere to the east of Nice, say in Menton, before heading back?


McLaurie, I understand what you mean about not recommending driving & sightseeing one of the corniche roads alone, but I did that a few years ago and loved it. You just keep your eyes on the road while driving and pull over when you want to sightsee or take photos. Granted, there aren't a tremendous amount of places to pull over but there were certainly enough to satisfy my sightseeing & shutterbug urges.

Grace Kelly, I believe, met her maker while driving on the Moyenne Corniche road. One needs to exercise due care, but I didn't find either the Grande or Moyenne to be as unnerving as the Amalfi Coast road.

P.S. I just found a couple photos on a website.

A driver's-eye view of the Cornice de l'Esterel...

http://www.webcom.com/~trw/CoteDAzur/22342719.htm

and the gorgeous red rock of the Esterel itself...

http://www.webcom.com/~trw/CoteDAzur/22342724.htm

Yep, you got it right...I wasn't thinking that the "Corniche" part of the road didn't start until Nice. We'll be coming from the West. Thought it might be fun to drive it. We actually enjoyed the Amalfi Coast road.

Driving the Corniche de l'Esterel is indeed spectacular, but in a different way from the corniche(s) which will lead you to/from Monaco.

Start at the exit from the Autoroute du Soleil for Frejus/Raphael and then just follow the signs.

Best wishes,

Rex

uhoh, if you planned to take the coast road from western Provence (Aix/Cassis/etc.) to Nice and then take one of the corniche roads before returning the western Provence, I don't think you'd have time for all that in one day.

If you took the autoroute to Nice and back, you probably would.

My recommendation would be to take the Grande Corniche road heading east from Nice. One of the things I like about this is that, as you approach La Turbie, you can see the Trophee des Alps in the distance and that's what Caesar Augustus apparently intended when he had it built on that "shelf" of land. I'd highly recommend a visit to the Trophee itself and, from the property, you get a fantastic view down into Monaco. You also get a great view of Eze Village from the Grande Corniche. At La Turbie, there's a road that connects the Grand Corniche to the Moyenne Corniche so, if you didn't want to head any futher east, like to Menton, you could drop down to Eze and then loop back on the Moyenne Corniche.